South African multinational pharmaceutical drug maker, Aspen Pharmacare, said on Monday that it would start distributing its infant formula milk in China.

This comes after the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) announced on Friday that it had approved the registration of Aspen’s infant milk formula brand, Alula. In October, Aspen launched Alula in China through a joint venture.

In 2016, the CFDA introduced new regulation stipulating that only CFDA approved brands would be allowed and sold into the People’s Republic of China after 1 January 2018.

“The approval authorises Aspen to continue export to China of its infant milk formula, following the successful launch of the Alula infant milk formula brand in October 2017,” the JSE-listed group said in a terse statement.

“This is a very important milestone for Aspen as it seeks to grow its brand presence in China which is the world’s biggest consumer of infant milk formula products.”

Aspen expects to make significant growth opportunities in China after it took over certain AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline product lines.